I had always said that I wanted 4 kids. My hubby said, “No – 2 is fine”. I offered a compromise and said “How about 3?” He again was adamant that 2 was fine. But for some reason, my family didn’t feel complete.
It was January 2000 and my hubby and I were invited to go on Lisa and Craig’s honeymoon cruise. We jumped at the invitation. We had a great time enjoying the food and going on various adventures like snorkeling, climbing volcanos, and exploring other countries. About a month after returning home, I found out that I was pregnant again. I was thrilled. My hubby was stressed, just like the other times. My focus was on having another baby, but he was always aware of the financial responsibilities that came with adding another mouth to the family.
My due date was in September of 2001 and my pregnancy was just like the others. Not a single day of morning sickness, no cravings, and no major complications. Being pregnant for me was easy peasy. I loved being pregnant each and every time.
We had no idea if we were having a boy or a girl, but by the time I went into labor, neither of us cared. We just wanted a healthy baby.
The night of September 13th, (I had now been pregnant for 38 weeks and 4 days) I went into labor, Mom and I were painting the kitchen chairs. Periodically, I would stop and breathe a deep sigh and then continue to work. I had to grab something from downstairs and I remember the feeling I had of the skin moving on my feet as I walked. I was retaining water and I just felt like everything was sloshing around in my body.
We finished painting the chairs and my hubby and I went to bed. I woke up a while later and felt like I really had to go to the bathroom. I sat down and suddenly I had a STRONG contraction. I grabbed the counter and the wall to brace myself. Wow – it was time. I woke up my hubby and told him we had to go. We called mom to come over and watch the boys and my hubby asked “Do I have time to take a shower first?”
“Seriously?” I wondered. Well – we had to wait for mom to get there anyway so I told him to hurry up. Mom got there within 15 minutes and we began heading to the car. By this time, I couldn’t walk down the hallway without having to stop for a contraction. They were coming fast.
It was at this time that I felt like I had to go number 2. I told mom as much and she said “NO – you’ll have the baby in the toilet!!” I ignored her and tried to go one more time before leaving. Whew – no baby in the toilet!
We arrived at the hospital at 4:50 am and by 5:00 am I was already in bed and hooked up to monitors. I told the nurse that I wanted an epidural. She went out to the hallway and came back with another nurse who informed me that I was already at 10 cm and there was no time! The doctor hadn’t even arrived yet and I told the nurses that I was feeling the need to push. They checked me and by 5:10 am, our beautiful baby girl came into the world on September 14th.
We agreed on naming her Jessica and as she was our only girl, the Princess was added to our family! With the Peanut, the Pumpkin, and the Princess, my family was now complete.
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